Spring Track Team Shatters Records

The spring track team, led by captains Alexis Salerno (senior), Hannah Reynolds (junior) and Gillian Thorp (junior), and coaches Tony Avallone, Maria Crowley and Adrianna Tacopino, significantly raised the bar this season by setting many new school records.

Running in Big Blue Relays on April 21, the sprint medley relay (SMR) team, composed of freshmen Isabel Garcia, Charlotte Walsh, Gabriella Sorrentino and Alexis Nerenberg, placed second overall and claimed the spot of 4th best SMR in the meet’s history with a time of 4:37.66.

Senior Haley C. prepares to throw the shot put at a dual meet against Mater Dei on April 25. (Photo courtesy of Melissa Whelan)

In the same meet, the 4×200 meter relay of Sorrentino, Walsh, freshman Caroline Page and Garcia broke the school record by almost a full second with a time of 1:58.3.

“I think that I have grown as a team member after being on relays, and I have also become mentally stronger to be able to push myself to be the best that I can be,” Page said.

That same day, upperclassmen were also making school history at the Colts Neck Relays when the team of sophomore Caroline Meany and seniors Salerno, Gina Rienzo and Bridget Andree set a new school record in the distance medley relay with a time of 12:50.

Those running in the sprint medley relay that day–Reynolds, sophomore Ryen Miller, Rienzo and senior Anna Barnett–also earned a new school best in the sprint medley relay with a time of 4:31.81.

The Monarchs again shattered another school record on May 9 at the Monmouth County Relay Championship. The 4×200 meter team of Reynolds, Sorrentino, Miller and senior Olivia DeNicola broke the previous record set in April with a time of 1:53.25.

Alexis N. sprints to the finish in a dual meet against Mater Dei on April 25. (Photo courtesy of Melissa Whelan)

On April 26, Rienzo, Salerno, DeNicola, Reynolds, Miller, Sorrentino and sophomore Morgan Feiler went to the prestigious Penn Relays, where they ran the 4×100 meter and 4×400 meter relays. There, the 4×100 meter team of Miller, DeNicola, Sorrentino and Reynolds set a new school record of 53.4 seconds. Less than a month later, that record was broken by the 4×100 meter relay team of Miller, DeNicola, Walsh and Reynolds, when they ran a 52.8 to earn a first place finish at the NJSIAA Non-Public B South Sectionals.

The Monarchs also implemented new events and earned new personal bests as the year progressed. Nerenberg, the first person in team history to do the triple jump, said, “I was nervous to be the first one ever doing it, but it was fun to be the start of a new event for Trinity Hall.”

Among those who have also set new individual school records this season are Garcia in the 400 meters, Walsh in the long jump, senior Haley Cesario in the shot put, junior Kelsey O’Kelly in the discus, Reynolds in the 100 and 200 meters, and freshman Ally Lawson in the 3200 meters and the 400-meter hurdles.

“The things that I was most impressed with were how the team gelled together as teammates, how they worked hard and the multiple school records that were set throughout the season. It made it exciting and fun,” Avallone said about the end of the successful season.